VAN LIFE
After hiking the Appalachian Trail I was looking for a way to minimize my stuff and maximize my life and #VanLife seemed like the ideal solution. In 2014 I moved into a self-built Honda Element home and lived on the streets of Santa Barbara, California while holding down a regular job and serving as the youngest Club President of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara. In 2015 I upgraded to a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia campervan, secured a Digital Nomad income stream, quit my job, and hit the road to travel full-time. For 3 years I crisscrossed North Ameican in Tantor the VW van visiting friends and family and having adventures including driving the Trans-Canada Highway, camping in the Florida Keys, and getting to know a few tow truck drivers due to breakdowns along the way.
Van Life Videos
Van Life Highlights
Home Sweet Honda
Published: October 2, 2014
2015 Road Trip
Published: January 11, 2016
Me Tarzan. Meet Tantor.
Published: June 5, 2015
The Trans-Canada Highway
Published: February 23, 2017
All Van Life Posts
Western Ramblin’
The summer kicked off with Born To Run and was quickly followed by Race Across America. I enjoyed both, but was looking forward to hitting the open road with less…
Winter Ramblings
The best way to ring in the New Year is to run a beer mile with your closest friends at midnight! Well, I’m not sure if that’s actually the best…
Hiking The Wave, Arizona
The Wave sits peacefully in no man’s land at the border of Arizona and Utah. This unique sandstone formation displays vivid red desert strata that have been eroded overtime into…
Westward Westy
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Canada and driving through New England, but my heart, and Tantor’s motor, were both yearning for the place we feel most at home, the Southwest. Before…
Nuevo England
I approached a federal border crossing one last time to bring an end to my Great Canadian Road Trip. I’d enjoyed bouncing between the United States and Canada all summer,…
The Great Canadian Road Trip – Part 2
After a brief visit to the United States my Great Canadian Road Trip continued in Ontario. I left Chicago, crossed Michigan, and made it through the border crossing with no…
The Great Canadian Road Trip – Part 1
While basking in the February South American sun on a beach in Ecuador I wondered, “What should I do for the summer?” The previous year I spent 6 months driving…
VanLife – How I Get Drinking Water For Free
I rarely go completely off grid as I travel, but I do utilize the campervan’s water tank to carry up to 11 gallons of potable water for cooking, washing, and…
Top 7 Things To Do In Slab City
Slab City is an off grid “community” in the Southern California desert a few hours inland from San Diego. Originally built in the 1940’s as a military base, by the…
20,000 Miles
24,901 Miles – The distance around the earth 20,000 Miles – The distance I traveled in my van around the United States in 2015 In March of 2015 I bought…
Arizona
I could almost hear a sigh of relief from Tantor as we slowed to a park in front of Grandpa’s townhouse. 20,000 miles in 5 months was a lot to…
Go Westy Young Man
Leaving Florida I had 10 days until I needed to be in Arizona for Thanksgiving. It wasn’t a lot of time, considering that I wanted to see new cities, visit…
Florida
I woke up sweating in a truck stop gas station just a mile north of the state line. The overnight temperatures hovered near 80, meaning I had a warm balmy…
Georgia
My first stop in Georgia was Hiawassee to see Jim and Maggie, our first “Trail Angels” on the Appalachian Trail in 2012. They had met us the day that we…
Why I Will Probably Sleep In Your Driveway
This summer I’ve been fortunate to visit friends and family around the country, and each time I arrive in a new town I receive a myriad of offers, most often…
Appalachia
The day that I left Indiana I woke up on a couch in my buddy’s basement, which was good because it was below freezing inside my van in his driveway….Back Home Again In Indiana
I speed across The Great Plains (read as ‘I pressed the pedal to the metal and almost hit 65’), focused on reaching Chicago and kicking off my 3 week visit…VanLife Shower
I often get asked how I shower while living in a van. The best way to answer is to show you. Don’t worry, the video below is PG. #VanLife Shower…
